Covering a substantial part of the Baw Baw Plateau and sections of the Thomson and Aberfeldy River valleys, Baw Baw National Park offers colourful wildflowers in early summer and open grassy plains with Snow Gum woodlands.

Mount St Gwinear, Mount Erica and the Baw Baw Alpine Village are ideal bases for bushwalking.

The Thomson River downstream of the Thomson Dam offers some of the best white water rafting in Victoria. Several tour companies provide rafting tours all year round.

In winter, the park is ideal for ski touring and has a variety of marked trails to suit the skills of skiers. Trails can be followed from the St Gwinear car park on to the plateau or further to the Baw Baw Alpine Resort.

Aboriginal Traditional Owners
Parks Victoria acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, the Gunaikurnai identify the Baw Baw National Park as their Traditional Country. Further information is available from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria AAV and Native Title Services Victoria.

Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions, please visit the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website.

Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. Refer to the Bushfire Safety section on the Parks Victoria website for tips on how to stay safe.

Local directions

The Park is best accessed from the Latrobe Valley via the towns of Traralgon or Moe. Signposted roads direct you to the townships of Erica and Rawson. From here follow the Thomson Valley Road 11 km to the Mount Erica car park turnoff, or continue to the Mount St Gwinear turn off. The approach to St Gwinear is along 13 km of winding gravel road. Care must be taken and chains are required in winter. The Thomson Dam and Aberfeldy River are accessed from this same road.

Facilities

Additional business information

Heritage
The words baw baw are Aboriginal for 'echo', although another possible origin of the name is from the words Bo Bo, used on early maps and said to mean 'big' in an Aboriginal language. The mountain was explored by the botanist Baron von Mueller in 1860 and the area declared a national park in 1979.

Vegetation & Fauna
The extensive plateau of grassy snowplains, a contrast to the steep river valleys, is punctuated by peaks such as Mount Baw Baw, Mount St Gwinear and Mount Erica. The alpine meadows in early summer are bright with wildflowers among twisted Snow Gums. The park protects a range of significant plant communities in the alpine environment, forest and river areas. Trees include Alpine Ash, Mountain Ash, Snowgum, Messmate, Myrtle Beech and stringy barks. Baw Baw Berry, endemic to this region, occurs on the plateau. As well as the more common wombats, echidnas, possums, lyrebirds and cockatoos, the park is home to the endangered Leadbeaters Possum and Baw Baw Frog.